Select one menu to continue. You can view each menu’s dishes before choosing.

Experimental art performance — not medical care and not research

Welcome to Haute Cuisine for the Rectum, a speculative dining experience for holobionts. The work explores, through performance, food, intimacy and the imagination of future microbiome-informed culture, what it might mean to dine for more than one human organism.

During the experience you will take part in an intimate 20–30 minute live performance with one or two other anonymous dinner guests and a host. The five-course menu is designed around both oral and rectal bodily entry. Because the work involves nudity, intimate bodily contact and rectal administration, participation requires clear, ongoing and freely withdrawable consent.

Haute Cuisine for the Rectum is an artistic and speculative experience. It is not a medical treatment, diagnostic procedure or scientific research study. No biological, psychological or health data are collected for research purposes.

The work is inspired by emerging scientific research into relationships between diet, the gut microbiome, the body and mental health. The performance does not claim that this single experience will improve, worsen, prevent or treat any physical or mental health condition.

• You will be welcomed, briefed and given the opportunity to ask questions before entering the performance.
• You will change in a private dressing area and put on a specially designed performance garment. The garment is worn without personal underwear; a bra or top may be worn if you wish.
• The garment is designed to reduce visual identification between guests and the host, but complete anonymity cannot be guaranteed.
• You will be seated with one or two other guests and guided by a host through a five-course sensory dining experience.
• Depending on the course, food or other menu material may be offered orally or administered rectally according to the final performance protocol.
• The host may touch the mouth and/or the external anal/perianal area only where necessary for administration or cleaning, and only after your consent has been checked.
• You may decline any individual course, any route of administration, or any form of touch without having to leave the rest of the performance.

You may stop at any moment. You may decline a course, decline oral or rectal administration, decline touch, or leave the performance entirely, without giving a reason and without any disadvantage.

Before any intimate or rectal part of the performance, the host will check your consent again. If you say “stop”, raise your hand, use the agreed stop signal, or otherwise indicate that you do not wish to continue, the action will stop immediately. You are never responsible for preserving the continuity of the artwork or the experience of other guests.

A designated safety person who is not performing the host role will be available during the event if you need assistance, wish to leave, or want to discuss anything privately.

The experience is designed to minimise risk, but no intimate bodily intervention is completely without risk. Possible effects may include:

• temporary embarrassment, vulnerability, anxiety or emotional discomfort;
• temporary rectal or perianal discomfort, irritation, pressure, urgency or abdominal symptoms;
• minor mucosal or skin irritation and, rarely, minor bleeding;
• gastrointestinal effects such as cramping, diarrhoea or an urge to defecate;
• allergic or intolerant reactions to ingredients;
• infection or contamination risk, reduced through the hygiene and single-use procedures described below;
• unexpected discomfort related to nudity, bodily exposure, smell, proximity to other participants or intimate touch.

If you experience significant pain, bleeding, shortness of breath, an allergic reaction, faintness, panic or any other concerning symptom, the performance will be stopped and appropriate first aid or medical assistance will be sought.

• Food preparation and handling will follow applicable professional food-hygiene standards.
• Any material intended for rectal administration will be separately reviewed for suitability for that route and used only according to the final safety protocol.
• Equipment that comes into contact with intimate body areas will be single-use or appropriately disinfected between participants.
• The host will use appropriate gloves and barrier/hygiene measures and will change gloves between participants and procedures where required.
• You will be given suitable, skin-safe hygiene materials and a private place to clean the external genital and perianal area before changing into the performance garment.
• Toilet and washing facilities will be available before and after the performance.

Final protocol details to be inserted before participant booking opens: exact substances used rectally, approximate volume, administration device, maximum insertion depth (if any), lubricant, temperature range, cleaning/disinfection procedure and emergency contact arrangements.

Participation is for adults aged 18 years and over only.

Please do not participate if any of the following apply:

• you are intoxicated or otherwise not able to understand, communicate or withdraw consent;
• you have an active anal or rectal injury, fissure, painful haemorrhoids, unexplained rectal bleeding, or significant anal/rectal pain;
• you have active diarrhoea, vomiting or a gastrointestinal infection;
• you have had recent colorectal, anal or pelvic surgery or a recent invasive colorectal procedure;
• you have an active inflammatory bowel condition or other gastrointestinal condition for which rectal administration may be unsafe;
• you are significantly immunocompromised, unless a qualified medical professional has confirmed that participation is appropriate;
• you are pregnant, if any final ingredient or rectal procedure is considered unsuitable during pregnancy;
• you have a known allergy, intolerance or other contraindication to any ingredient used in the menu.

If you are unsure whether a medical condition or medication makes participation unsuitable, please do not participate until you have discussed it with an appropriate healthcare professional.

• The performance garment is intended to reduce recognition, but it cannot guarantee complete anonymity.
• Participants are asked not to disclose personal information they learn about other guests during or after the experience.
• No photography, video or audio recording of you will take place unless you separately and explicitly consent.
• Declining photography or recording will not affect your ability to participate.
• The performance itself does not collect research data. Any practical booking information will be handled separately from the performance and only for organisational purposes in accordance with the organiser’s privacy policy.

All participants and staff are expected to respect each other’s bodily, emotional and personal boundaries. Sexualised, coercive, mocking, intrusive or deliberately disruptive behaviour is not permitted. The host may pause or end an individual’s participation if this is necessary for safety or the wellbeing of others.

You may use the toilet and washing facilities immediately after the experience and may speak privately with the safety person if you wish. If you develop persistent pain, significant bleeding, fever, a severe allergic reaction or another concerning symptom after the event, seek appropriate medical care.

Event safety/contact person: Marcel van Brakel

Contact details for concerns after participation:
care@polymorf.nl

Your participant details and answers are complete.

Review your details below. Confirming your reservation saves your intake and sends your confirmation email with your guest iPad code. You can then book a timeslot with IDFA. If you don’t find the confirmation email in your inbox, please check your spam or junk folder.